Dried and Dying Roses (BWWM)

Seven: Christian Ford

Seven

Isa was in the bed late at night on December twentieth, still locked in her room and harboring hurt from the only person who had ever mistreated and insulted her so much. Isa had cried herself to sleep, hurt not even coming close to describing how she felt by what Adrian had said earlier that night.

All she had wanted was to get to know him, know about him, and he pushed her away and snapped and lashed out at her as if she had just personally insulted him.

She had no clue if Adrian was even still in her house, and quite frankly, she wished he wasn't. She was tired of having her feelings hurt for no reason. She did not want or need that.

The loud ringing of Isa's phone pulled her from her sleep, causing her to roll over an answer grumpily, "What?"

It was Isaac, "Isa, Del's went into labor. She wanted you to be the first person I called. We just got put into a room and the doctor said the baby will be here in probably four to five hours but she wants you here now."

"What time is it?" Isa groaned, climbing out of the bed as she spoke, pulling on a sweater over her pajamas along with a pair of shorts and her lion house shoes that the mouth served as an opening, "It's two ten." Her brother told her, his voice dropping to a whisper, "She's fallen asleep for now but if you're not here when she wakes up, she's killing us all."

Isa yawned, not even taking off her silk headscarf as she unlocked her door, "I'll be there soon."

When she walked through the living room, Adrian sat up the second she entered the room as if he hadn't been unconscious seconds before, "Where are you going?" He asked, his eyes shining with alertness.

"To the hospital." She yawned, "My sister in-law just went into labor,"

Adrian nodded, and when he lifted his hand touch her face, Isa flinched, her jaded eyes went from dull and fatigued to shining bright with hurt, with anger, and her once calm voice had risen to a loud snap, "Don't you fucking touch me, Adrian!" She snapped, jumping away from him, "Don't you dare touch me!"

"Oh, suck it up!" Adrian immediately snapped, stepping to his counterpart and gripping her collar in his hand before dragging her easily to him despite Isa's fighting, "You act like it's such a bad thing for me to hurt your fragile little feelings, Isaline. Who gives a fuck? Don't try to be a hard ass now!"

Isa glared at the man who had jerked her up to her toes by the scruff of her shirt, still fighting to get away from him, "I haven't the time to do this with you, Adrian. My first nephew is on the way, and I need to be there for this, for my best friend! I promised her."

"Tell me why you were crying," Adrian murmured. When Isa shook her head in decline, the vampire's grip on her shirt tightened, pulling her up to her tip-toes, and closer to the man she was so desperately trying to escape, "Tell me."

"I'm not going to let you intimidate me. Let me go before I-"

"What, give me a hug?" Adrian cut the irritated woman with a bark of laughter that caused her to jump, "Or are you going to kiss my ass like you do everyone else in this town, Sweetie?" Isa's face crumbled; she was already sensitive, and he had said the one thing that got to her no matter who said it: He had questioned her genuinity, insulted it.

All her life, Isaline's trueness had been questioned by people who either refused to understand, or just didn't understand her heart honestly. It hurt her more than anything could to have to constantly listen as she was accused of being a phony, a dupe, or she was dishonest

and any time she tried to argue it, it was like she was making herself seem guilty, though she truly had a heart of gold.

"I-I'm not-"